Prison of Ice
by dragoncymru
Summary: The Doctor, Jack and Katherine land on the frozen world of Callis IV and immediately get entanged in a new adventure. Who is soon to arrive on the planet? What is the Chamber? This is the second story of my series that follows 'Time of the Witch'
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The TARDIS hurtled through the multicoloured miasma that was the Time Vortex.

Inside the TARDIS, as the incandescent pillar of light above the central console rose and fell steadily, the Doctor stood next to Jack Harkness. Both men had their arms folded and watched their new companion, Katherine de Gallois as she walked around the console and gazed at the golden chamber in amazement. It reminded Katherine of a wondrous cathedral, and she fought the urge to whisper. "But this is magic, it must be!" she stammered.

Jack grinned as the Doctor shook his head. "No not magic Katherine. This is my home – the TARDIS."

"But it was just a blue box! All of this is inside it?" Katherine asked wonderingly.

"You got it!" laughed Jack. "And it travels around too! We can go anywhere we like."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and his face darkened a fraction "Well, not anywhere Jack. There are some places even I can't get to."

Katherine shook her head, it was so difficult to take all this in. She had never imagined anything like this had ever existed. The strange grinding sound of the TARDIS materialising suddenly hook her from any further thoughts as the Time Rotor slowed to a halt. "What was that?" she asked, looking at the mushroom-shaped console with a mixture of excitement and just a little fear.

The Doctor put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled. "It means we've landed."

Jack leaned over the console as the Doctor checked the co-ordinates. "Well, where are we?" he asked.

The Doctor smiled. "We've left Earth!" He turned on the monitor on the console to reveal an amazing desert of snow and ice with incredible glaciers in the far distance. "This is Callis IV, a fairly remote planet in the year 5000." He looked up at Jack. "Around your time then, Captain!"

Jack said nothing, his eyes avoiding the Doctor, but nodded and gave a brief smile.

"Why don't you show Katherine where she can get changed?" the Doctor asked Jack, looking at Katherine's beautiful deep blue Renaissance dress. "She can hardly explore an arctic planet in that gown, can she?"

**1.**

The door to the TARDIS opened and Katherine slowly stepped out, looking around her in wonder at the amazing icy landscape of the alien world. Her French gown had been replaced with dark trousers and boots and a warm woollen jacket complete with a fur lined hood that was pulled up over her head. She pulled on thick woollen gloves as she gasped in wonder at the incredible vista around her.

The ground was covered with snow and ice as far as she could see in all directions around her. In the far distance were what looked like rugged mountains.

The Doctor and Jack followed her out and the Doctor turned to close and lock the TARDIS door behind them. He had a short red scarf wrapped around his neck, and his long brown coat was buttoned up. Jack wore a warm hat with earflaps on his head, a scarf around his neck, and his blue military coat was also fully buttoned to keep out the biting cold.

Jack threw his arms around himself and rubbed his gloved hands together. "It's freezing!"

"It's beautiful!" Katherine whispered, her breath swirling amongst the delicate flakes of snow that danced through the air.

The Doctor grinned at his new friend. He loved showing his companions the wonders of the universe. "It is, isn't it!" He scanned the frozen landscape around them. "Let's take a look around then!"

Linking Katherine's arm in his, the Doctor strode off, pointing out interesting facts about alien worlds. Smiling at the Doctor's infectious enthusiasm, Jack followed behind.

***********************

An electronic viewfinder, numbers and ranges flickering on the high resolution display, registered the three figures as they walked in the far distance. The soldier, who was dressed in white combat gear and wearing a sophisticated helmet that contained electronic communication equipment, put down his binoculars and pointed in their direction. His companion, another soldier wearing similar gear, nodded and pressed a stud on the handlebars of the snow-sled that he sat on. The vehicle roared into life as the first soldier climbed on the back. Then with a spray of snow and ice, it sped off towards the Doctor and his companions.

**2.**

The Doctor heard the snow-sled long before it appeared out of the snow to the side of them, and motioned to Jack and Katherine to stay where they were. The sled came to a stop close to them, the roar of the engine dying away as one of the soldiers leapt off, grabbing the blaster rifle from where it was slung across his back. He walked towards the Doctor as he pushed up a pair of goggles from his eyes. He was in his late thirties or early forties with a handsome, rugged face and a square jaw. His eyes were a piercing blue and a small scar ran across his right temple.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the soldier asked tersely, pointing the blaster at them.

"I'm the Doctor, and these are my friends Jack and Katherine," the Doctor replied pleasantly. "We were just looking around, exploring and all that. Our," he paused for a second and produced his psychic paper from his pocket, "shuttle landed just back there. These are our travel documents. Have we done anything wrong?"

"Not yet, but this is hardly a place for tourists," the soldier replied bluntly.

The Doctor handed the soldier the psychic paper and Jack grinned as he scrutinised it before handing it back to the Doctor. "These seem to be in order, but we'll have to register them at the base," the soldier told them. The grin on Jack's face faltered at the news.

"What are you doing here Captain?" asked the Doctor, putting the paper back in his pocket and noticing the rank insignia on the sleeve of the soldier's white jacket.

"I'm Captain Hans Bergen, Doctor. This," he indicated the other soldier on the snow-sled, "is Corporal Connor. We're on a perimeter patrol."

Connor nodded in greeting to the Doctor and his friends. He was younger than Bergen, no older than twenty five with sandy close cut hair and a lean, boyish face.

"I didn't know there was any military activity on Callis IV?" said Jack carefully.

Bergen avoided Jack's question. "You're in a restricted area and we've received information that there maybe an unauthorised ship landing here. We thought that you might be it."

"I'm sorry, we didn't know. Why is it restricted Captain Bergen?" the Doctor asked.

"Because of the prison" Bergen replied simply.

**3.**

"There is a prison here," gasped Katherine in amazement, "in this hostile place?"

"One reason why we're here Miss," Bergen replied curtly.

"And the other reasons?" the Doctor asked quickly.

"Yeah and who were you expecting us to be?" added Jack.

Bergen looked at them very carefully but ignored their questions. "I think its time we returned to the base and got those clearances authenticated," he replied. Bergen turned and started to walk back to the vehicle. "If you can climb onto the back, there should be enough room, just hold on tight."

The Doctor, Katherine and Jack exchanged glances but the Doctor shrugged and nodded. They walked over to the snowsled and climbed aboard. Bergen took his place next to Connor and put his helmet and goggles back on. He twisted around to the Doctor and his companions. "If we encounter any trouble, do exactly as I say."

The Doctor wrapped his scarf around his neck. "Are you expecting any trouble Captain?" he asked lightly.

Bergen muttered something that the Doctor couldn't quite hear under his breath before nodding to Corporal Connor. Connor pressed the ignition stud and the vehicle roared into life. With a grin, the Doctor caught hold of a nervous Katherine as the sled began to accelerate and race across the ice.

*****************

In the inky blackness of space, a magnificent spacecraft roared towards the icy white planet that was Callis IV. It was small but sleek, powerful and clearly expensive; a top of the range model with powerful ion engines and a streamlined shape that would be the envy of many a space pilot.

Inside the gleaming cockpit of the ship, two massive bronze robotic arms that ended in thick fingers, moved across the flight controls with incredible delicacy considering their size. The planet loomed large on a screen at the front of the cockpit and the robotic arms pushed a lever forwards, nudging the ship into descent.

"Hurry," said a confident male American voice. "Find the best place to land and as close to the base as we can." A hand that wore an expensive black signet ring pressed a control on a panel. "I'll send the signal."

**4. **

The ride on the snow-sled only lasted for a few minutes, although that was more than long enough for Katherine who although enjoyed the ride, would have much preferred a horse!

Jack however, grinned with exhilaration. He loved speed and the faster a vehicle could travel, the more he enjoyed the ride.

The outline of several metallic grey buildings could soon be seen in the distance through the falling snow.

"It's an early Sanctuary Base!" shouted the Doctor gleefully over the roar of the snow-sled engine as they approached the buildings. Sanctuary Bases were common in the future as Earth expanded further across the galaxy and all followed a basic modular design.

Connor expertly brought the snow-sled to a halt and they all climbed off. Bergen walked to the main hatchway and tapped a series of letters and numbers into a code panel at the side of the hatch. With a low grinding of metal, the hatch rolled slowly to one side revealing a dimly lit metal corridor that stretched into the base.

Bergen ushered the Doctor, Jack and Katherine inside, waited for Connor to join them, and then pressed another control on the wall of the corridor to reseal the hatch behind them.

"It's nice to get out of that cold!" gasped Katherine, throwing back her hood and pulling off her gloves. Jack nodded and took off his hat and put it in his pocket

The Doctor grinned. "Just as well I remembered my scarf. I used to love scarves!"

With a gesture from Bergen, they started to walk along the corridor when suddenly from a side corridor came the whirring of machinery approaching them. From around a corner rolled two silver robots. They were about five feet in height, a domed head that containing a single blue lens, two small metallic arms that ended in pincers, and legs that ended in small caterpillar tracks like a tank.

The Doctor stopped abruptly at the sight of the robots, putting his hands out to stop Jack and Katherine, but Bergen just smiled. "Don't worry Doctor these are just servo drones for the base."

He had hardly stopped speaking when a small panel on the chest of both of the robots dropped down to reveal a small but deadly looking laser weapon.

**5.**

Jack quickly flattened himself against the wall as the Doctor pulled Katherine behind him. There was a short hum as the robots lasers powered up.

"What the Hell?" cried Bergen as he and Connor leapt for any cover.

The robots fired, their laser beams lancing out, but fortunately missing everyone and striking the walls with sparks and smoke. Connor and Bergen reacted quickly. They drew blaster pistols from belt holsters and fired at the two robots. Their aim was excellent and after a few shots, the robots were destroyed in a shower of sparks and flame leaving just charred and smoking metal shells.

"I don't get it? Those things are on our side!" Connor said in amazement.

The Doctor glanced at Jack and then at Bergen who looked both angry and worried. He pushed back a sleeve to reveal a wrist communicator, and tapped a button, raising it to his mouth. "This is Bergen," he said urgently, "please respond Control?" He paused, waiting for an answer, but received only static.

"What are those things Doctor" asked Katherine fearfully gripping his arm.

"Simple robotic drones," said the Doctor, "machine servants, probably used for maintenance and guard duty when it gets too cold at night." He walked up to one of the still smoking remains of the robots and prodded around inside of the exposed head casings.

"We have to reach the Control room," interrupted Bergen. "Something's wrong here!"

"Spot on Captain," replied the Doctor, using his sonic screwdriver for a second before pulling out a complex piece of electronics from the robot's head.

"You've disconnected its' memory core?" asked Jack, looking over the Doctor's shoulder.

"That's right Jack," smiled the Doctor, blowing on the piece of electronics. "Now if I can just find a place to examine it properly?"

"You're joking!" said Bergen shaking his head. "Security may have been compromised and I'm getting no signal from Control."

"All the more reason to look at this before we go blundering in then!" the Doctor grinned.

Captain Bergen considered for a moment and then nodded. "All right, this way." He beckoned for Connor to take a rearguard position and then with his blaster rifle held up in one hand, he started down the corridor.

The Doctor nodded to Jack to keep hold of Katherine as he put the memory cortex from the servo-drone into one of his coat pockets. Taking care to move quickly but quietly, the group moved deeper into the base.

**6.**

After a few minutes, Bergen stopped next to a hatch. "This is Lab 4," he whispered, "it should be empty." He pressed the control pad next to the door and flattened himself against the wall as the hatch slid open, clearly expecting laser fire, but all was quiet from within.

The Doctor peered into the empty lab over Bergen's shoulder and smiled. "Perfect!" he grinned and ushered Jack and Katherine inside. Connor entered last, closed the hatch, and took up a guard position next to it. The Doctor strolled over to a workbench close to a computer station, pulled out his glasses from his jacket and started to examine the memory cortex of the destroyed drone.

Katherine came to stand next to him and he paused and looked up at her. "Are you alright Katherine?"

She nodded. "I never believed places like this could exist," she paused, "so far from France. I don't understand any of it!" she whispered.

The Doctor smiled gently. "The universe is a big place, but you're doing fine."

She smiled back at him, grateful for his understanding nature.

Bergen interrupted them. "What have you discovered Doctor?" he demanded.

"That these robots were reprogrammed," replied the Doctor.

"That's obvious!" yelled Bergen, starting to lose his temper.

"Reprogrammed remotely," continued the Doctor, unabashed at the Captain's outburst. "See," he indicated a part of the core, "there's a satellite receiver inbuilt to the circuit." He whistled in admiration. "Whoever did this certainly knew their robotics!"

Suddenly, there was a shout from Connor at the hatch. "I can hear more drones coming!"

"If they find us here we're trapped! Take cover everyone!" Bergen yelled.

Connor reacted with a soldier's instincts and instantly retreated, kneeling down, his blaster rifle aimed at the hatch. Bergen crouched by a table as Jack dragged Katherine behind a console for protection. Only the Doctor remained unmoved, watching the hatch carefully.

The hatch opened and three drones rolled in, the panels in their chests already opened and revealing the small but powerful laser weapons within. The three robots pivoted around, surveying the room for potential targets as their laser weapons powered up, ready to unleash their deadly energy.


	2. Chapter 2

**7. **

"Doctor, get down!" screamed Katherine from across the laboratory, but the Doctor just smiled reassuringly at her and held up his trusty sonic screwdriver. As the tip glowed with an intense blue light, there was a short high pitched whine and suddenly smoke began to pour from the heads of the robots. They emitted an electronic groan and then their heads dropped forwards, all power gone from their circuits.

The Doctor grinned with delight at his own cleverness and put his sonic screwdriver back in his pocket as he approached the still smoking drones.

"What did you do?" asked Jack in amazement, standing up from behind the console.

"Simple," boasted the Doctor, waving his hand next to the drone to waft away the smoke. "I told you that their cores had been reprogrammed remotely by a link. I just set up a resonance pattern at the same frequency. The interference blew their minds – literally!"

"Then you can overcome any drones that are hostile?" asked Bergen carefully, slinging his rifle over his shoulder as he approached the Doctor and inspected the destroyed drones.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, one time trick only I'm afraid. Whoever is controlling theses things, can simply switch frequencies. I only knew this one because it was registered on the cortex I examined."

"Then we're no better off," grunted Bergen, disappointed that they didn't have a permanent weapon.

The Doctor shook his head. "Nope, I'm afraid not!"

Bergen regarded the destroyed drones and let out a breath. He looked over at Connor who just nodded grimly. "Then the intelligence we received was correct, he is responsible!" grunted Bergen

The Doctor straightened up and took off his glasses. "Who is responsible Captain?" he asked curiously.

"It's Denham of course." Bergen replied curtly.

The Doctor glanced at Jack to see if recognised the name, but Jack just shrugged and shook his head. "We've never heard of him," the Doctor grinned at Bergen, "Denham who?"

Bergen looked unbelievingly at the Doctor. "You've not heard of Joseph Denham, the computer mogul, the guy who used to run the entire EtherNet interstellar communication network?" he spluttered.

Katherine looked up at the Doctor for an explanation of the strange words. "How spacecraft communicate over interstellar distances. A bit like the Internet but with more knobs on, and less junk mail!" he said quickly before turning back to Bergen and shook his head. "No, can't say I have. Famous is he?"

**8.**

Corporal Connor looked between the Doctor, Jack and Katherine and shook his head in disbelief. "I don't get it! Where have you guys been living all these years?"

The Doctor made a face. "Oh, around and about, you know; Renaissance France, here and there."

Bergen was about to deliver a cutting reply to the Doctor's foolishness when Jack interrupted him. "You said 'used' to run? Is he retired now or did he sell out or something?" he asked shrewdly.

"Hardly," Bergen grunted, "he was just found to be dabbling in some very nasty businesses in his spare time- government deals, blackmail, weaponry development, even some smuggling and gunrunning."

"He sounds like a terrible man," said Katherine, shaking her head.

"A bored rich guy, getting his kicks from bigger and bigger risks," Bergen continued. "The Alliance discovered what he was doing and took over his companies."

"So why do you think that is Denham's work?" asked the Doctor, pointing to the deactivated robots.

"Because the intelligence we received on him coming here, plus the fact that Denham ran dozens of robotic and electronics firms. He could control the drones using a remote link you found; he was a genius with robotics!" Bergen paused and looked away. "And we've got one of his former 'associates' here in prison!"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed with curiosity. "You mentioned a prison before Captain. What kind of prison?"

Bergen shook his head firmly. "No Doctor. I'm sorry, but that's top security. Even with all this, I can't divulge any more military secrets. I'd be court-martialled!"

Jack stared at Bergen in amazement. "You're kidding!" he exploded angrily. "After all that we've done?"

Katherine nodded in support. "Can't you see that the Doctor just wants to help?"

Bergen smiled ruefully. "We never did get round to checking those clearances did we! I appreciate your help, but you could be anyone. Let's just say the prisoners here are important ones!"

The Doctor just shrugged, understanding Bergen's sense of duty. The military could be so frustrating at times. "As you wish Captain," he said carefully. "But I think we should head for Control."

"I agree!" Bergen muttered, happy to drop the subject of the prison. He walked towards the open hatch and past the deactivated drones. "Come on," he said, looking into the corridor, his blaster rifle ready in his hands

The Doctor, Katherine and Jack, with Connor acting as a rear guard behind them, followed Bergen from the laboratory and back into the dark and cold corridor of the Sanctuary base.

**9.**

They had only gone a few metres when there was a sudden heavy mechanical clanking from a side corridor. A huge bronze android, easily two metres tall, emerged from the corridor and strode towards them. As Bergen and Connor started to raise their blasters to attack it, the android stopped and raised a massive arm that clearly carried a built-in heavy energy weapon.

A handsome man, perhaps in his late thirties and wearing a heavy fur jacket over an expensive looking suit stepped from behind the android. He had a square jaw, close cut, slicked back dark hair, and deep brown eyes. He gave a thin smile at the Doctor and the others. "So you're the irritation that needs to be eliminated?"

Bergen and Connor quickly raised their blasters. "You'll pay for this!" Bergen snarled furiously

The man raised an eyebrow and glanced at the bronze android next to him as it powered up the weaponry in the massive arm. "I don't think so Captain!" he said coldly.

Before anything else could happen, the Doctor stepped forward with a pleasant smile on his face. "I'm the Doctor. You must be Mr. Joseph Denham?" He put his hands out and gently pushed Bergen and Connor's blaster rifles so they pointed at the floor.

Denham's mouth twitched sardonically. "My reputation precedes me. Since these two idiots couldn't have managed to disrupt my remote signal in a million years, it must have been you Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged modestly. "My reputation precedes me."

Denham actually laughed at the Doctor's reply, and the Doctor joined in before Denham's eyes grew cold again. "Drop your weapons guys," Denham whispered, "or my metallic friend Max here will kill you before you have a chance to fire a shot!"

Bergen looked like he was going to argue and test out the android's reactions but he caught the Doctor's eye and nodded to Connor. Both soldiers reluctantly placed their weapons on the floor. The android raised an arm again and a bright blue beam of energy shot out and melted the rifles into scrap.

"Alright," said the Doctor breezily, "now we're defenceless and you have us at your mercy so to speak, why don't we all sit down and have a nice cuppa?"

Denham smiled again, but his smile was cold and hard. "I'm more of a bourbon man myself Doctor, and I'm afraid I have no time for any niceties" he asked sarcastically.

"If you like, although I always feel better after a nice cuppa" continued the Doctor innocently. "Anyway, why you're here is obvious. Organising a little prison break are we Mr. Denham?"

**10.**

Denham's eyes flashed dangerously at the mention of the prison. "How do you know?"

The Doctor just smiled and avoided the question. "I don't think I've introduced my two friends, Jack Harkness and Katherine de Gallois?"

Denham hardly spared them a glance but spoke to the Doctor again. "It's nice to have friends Doctor. People you care about. I think you could be useful to me. They're not useful, well not directly….." He left the threat hanging in the air before turning to the android. "Max, bring them. Kill them if they attempt anything!" He turned back to the Doctor and gestured along the corridor. "Doctor, come with me," he ordered.

Smiling reassuringly at Jack and Katherine, the Doctor put his hands in his pockets as he strolled next to Denham. "Going to the Control Area are we?"

"That's right" Denham said as they walked. "You're going to open the Chamber for me."

The android waited until Jack, Katherine, Bergen and Connor had started to follow Denham and the Doctor, then turned and marched closely behind them, its impassive gaze monitoring their every move.

"Chamber?" the Doctor repeated, intrigued despite himself. He looked back to Bergen, but the Captain avoided his gaze. "Ooh, a 'Chamber of Secrets'. JK eat your heart out! This all sounds very interesting."

They walked deeper into the base and through several hatchways without any further encounter. Denham stopped suddenly at a junction with two hatches. "Max," he ordered, "put these four in here and guard them. If they attempt to escape, or if you get a signal from me, kill them, understand?"

Katherine looked imploringly at the Doctor, but he seemed to be studying Denham as if sizing him up. He noticed Katherine's look and gave her a reassuring wink and a nod.

The android obeyed Denham's order and opened one of the hatches next to it. Bergen and Connor, followed by a hostile Jack and a very nervous Katherine, went through the hatch and into a small storeroom beyond. The android stood next to the hatch, pressed another control, and the hatch rolled shut.

Denham held up a small remote device. "This is my insurance Doctor! Don't be stupid enough to think I won't use it. Now," he gestured to the other hatch, "follow me, we have work to do!"

With a last concerned look at the android and the room that contained his friends, the Doctor followed Denham through the other hatch and deeper into the base.

**11.**

The Doctor and Denham had walked through the base for several minutes. They had encountered another patrol of robotic drones but unlike the previous hostilities, these drones had just ignored them.

"Very impressive," murmured the Doctor as he watched them depart. "Complete control!"

Denham smiled coldly but said nothing and soon the pair had reached a large hatch in front of them. Denham tapped in a code sequence on a panel next to the hatch. It rolled open and Denham stepped through followed by the Doctor. They were in a very large circular room, at least ten metres in diameter. He and Denham stood on a metal gantry that ran around the circumference of the chamber. The Doctor walked to the edge of the gantry, gripped the handrail, and looked down into the chamber below. There were the usual and expected banks of computers, panels and screens. Several robotic drones moved around the chamber, presumably still under Denham's control. The Doctor's jaw stiffened as he noticed a neat pile of dead bodies – soldiers and scientists – that had been moved to the edge of the room where they would no longer hinder the drones.

Denham noticed the Doctor's expression of disgust and fury as he started down a metal staircase into the chamber. "It was necessary," he said coldly.

The Doctor didn't answer, but followed Denham down the stairway. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw something incredible on one wall. It looked like a huge, circular screen about five metres in diameter, but it shimmered and pulsated with a blue-green light.

"This is the Chamber," explained Denham as the pair approached it. "That's where the prisoners are kept – inside individual stasis pods."

The Doctor blew a silent whistle of appreciation and then he smiled. "And you can't get through?"

Denham's mouth twitched. "A slight oversight; the personnel here proved uncooperative and my drones weren't programmed to bargain."

The Doctor's expression hardened and he glanced back to the bodies. "So I see!"

"I could get it open, naturally," boasted Denham, "but now you're here I can save some time." He faced the Doctor directly. "Impress me. Open the Chamber and I'll let you and your friends go. If not," he held up the remote device, "I'll kill them one by one!"

**12.**

Jack looked around the small storeroom that they had been locked inside. It was empty apart from some bare shelves and he couldn't see anything that was immediately useful. Frustrated and angry, he slammed his fist down on one of the shelves with a yell. Although he had been locked up many times in his life, he always hated being caged.

Katherine stood on tiptoe and peered out of the small window in the hatch to see the android Max positioned outside. "That metal man is still there," she reported.

Connor stood next to her, looking over her shoulder and out through the window at Max. "He's some piece of machinery; probably an android soldier," he said with grudging admiration. "I bet he was a prototype that Denham was developing to sell to some military!"

Katherine looked at Connor uncomprehendingly. "I don't understand a word of what you say!" she sighed.

Bergen angrily paced around the small room. He knew that most, if not all, the personnel on the base had been killed by Denham and his reprogrammed drones. "Forget the technology discussion Corporal, we have to get out of here and stop Denham!" he yelled.

"Yeah, you got any bright ideas?" snapped Jack, still worried about the Doctor.

Bergen rounded on the American angrily, his fists bunching and clearly furious. "Well I don't hear you suggesting anything useful either!"

Connor leapt across the room and got between Bergen and Jack before anything further developed. "Hey guys, Captain, drop it okay?"

Bergen stared at Connor for a moment before nodding. He raised his hands to indicate that he wasn't about to lose control and just turned away. Jack, still breathing hard with adrenalin, glared at the two soldiers. But then he too took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair with frustration

Katherine could see that the urgency of the situation was getting to the three soldiers; all of whom longed for action and were worried about what was happening outside. She interrupted the tension as she walked across the room, an idea forming in her mind. "These shelves," she wondered, looking at the freestanding metal shelves that cut the storeroom into aisles. "How heavy are they?"

**13.**

In front of the Chamber in the control area, the Doctor regarded Denham silently. He had no doubt that the ruthless businessman would kill his friends. Unfortunately, he didn't think Denham would let them all go if he got what he wanted anyway! "Killing my friends would be a mistake," he told Denham flatly.

Denham raised the remote device. "It's a mistake I'm willing to make!"

The Doctor took a breath. Opening the Chamber would buy them some time and the Doctor was curious of what he might find inside there. Something didn't quite make sense. He started to take off his coat. "How can I refuse an offer like that?" he said dryly.

"Good," Denham replied with no trace of humour. "I have," he paused slightly, "another matter to attend to. I'll be back shortly to check on your progress." He indicated the service robots that moved around the room. "My drones will supervise you so that you don't do anything foolish." Denham produced a small communicator from his pocket and put it on a computer panel. "When you open the chamber, contact me." He turned to leave through another hatch. "If I haven't heard from you before I return, I'll signal Max to kill your friends anyway!" With a last hard look, Denham closed the hatch behind him and was gone.

The Doctor scratched the back of his head. He was bursting with questions but didn't think that Denham was the type of man to open up. There was also something about Denham that was strange, but the Doctor couldn't quite put his finger on it. He turned his attention to the Chamber and looked at it with curiosity, walking close to it and putting on his glasses.

He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed a short burst at the Chamber. The colour of the screen remained unchanged. "Nope, its deadlock sealed naturally," muttered the Doctor, putting the screwdriver back in his pocket.

Biting his lip in concentration, he tentatively reached out a hand towards it. As his hand got closer to the shimmering light, there was a sudden discharge of raw energy.

A huge blue spark leapt out and hurled the Doctor senseless to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**14.**

The Doctor blinked and slowly opened his eyes. To his enormous surprise and relief, he was still alive. He stared up at the ceiling as he lay there. "Doctor, you can be so thick sometimes!" he muttered. "It's a prison; of course there are bound to be booby traps!" He groaned at the throbbing pain in his arm and head, and pushed himself up onto his elbows from where he had been thrown to the floor. He wiped a hand across his face, took a deep breath, and gently got to his feet. He knew he had been lucky – the charge contained in the force-field surrounding the Chamber was strong enough to be deadly to humans. But fortunately he wasn't human! Shaking his still numb hand and giving the Chamber a thoughtful look, he pulled out a chair and sat next to a computer terminal that was connected to it.

"Okay, let's take this one step at a time!" he mused thoughtfully. With a cautious glance at the robotic drones that glided past him and patrolled the room, the Doctor started to tap carefully at the keyboard of the control terminal. Complex codes and figures began to flash up on a screen above it.

*********************

An outer hatch to the base opened upwards with a hiss of warm air and Denham strode out, not bothering to put up his jacket hood against the biting cold and whirling snow. A few hundred metres away across the ice was his small but powerful spacecraft that he had landed close to the remote base.

Denham, his face set, marched relentlessly across the ice and snow towards his ship, not flinching as the wind whipped through his hair and flakes of snow landed on his face. He reached the hatch of the ship and pressed a button on a remote activator that he produced from his jacket pocket. Slowly, the hatch to the spacecraft opened and a ramp automatically lowered to the ground with a smooth hum of power.

Hardly pausing, Denham raced up the ramp and into his ship. He knew time was short.

Denham strode towards the back of the ship and the passenger area where a figure lay covered in a blanket. He reached down and gently pulled the blanket back.

**15.**

The Doctor was having some success at cracking the complex codes that governed the Chamber. It was indeed fiendishly difficult overriding the stasis locks, but the Doctor knew a few shortcuts. He punched a few more controls and found that he could bring up a prisoner list.

"This is interesting," he mused as he scrolled through the data. "It's like an episode of 'Crimewatch' in here, but without Nick Ross obviously!"

Each prisoner was being kept in a separate stasis pod, totally unaware of any sensations except the slow passage of time. Low temperatures helped stabilise stasis pods, no doubt the reason why the prison was on the icy world of Callis IV. The Doctor rested his chin on his hands as holographic images became superimposed on the Chamber as he went through the prisoner list.

There were certainly a lot of prisoners here; many humans, a fierce Sycorax warrior in flaming red robes, a pair of slimy green Slitheen with their baby-like black eyes, as well as a small, evil looking Graske.

"Beat you; you were a bit of trouble, and you were just a pain!" mocked the Doctor, but then he gasped and looked closer as another name and image appeared: Joseph Denham.

*********************

The hatch to the storeroom rolled open with a loud clang. The huge bronze android that Denham called Max swivelled its head towards the hatch, ready to apprehend and kill any humans that were trying to escape, but there was no movement at all from within. It paused for a moment and then cautiously the android marched into the room, raising the massive arm that housed the powerful laser weapon.

"Now!" shouted Jack loudly, pressed tightly against the wall and still clutching the wires that had just shorted the door panel.

Bergen, Connor and Katherine pushed the metal shelf at the end of the room as hard as they could. Like dominoes, the shelves began to topple with greater and greater momentum until the shelf nearest the door collided with the android with an enormous force. It knocked the huge machine over with an electronic screech and a tremendous clatter, burying it beneath a mass of metal.

"Run!" yelled Jack, not wanting to wait around to see if the android was destroyed or just damaged. He grabbed Katherine's hand and together with the two soldiers, fled out into the corridor.

**16.**

The Doctor checked his watch. He had been working on the system for nearly an hour now and had managed to work out the equations that held the stasis pods inside the Chamber. Denham was bound to return soon, but the Doctor was pretty sure however that he could now open one of the stasis pods. On pure instinct, and out of immense curiosity, he pressed the controls to release the prisoner that was labelled as Joseph Denham.

The Doctor tapped his chin in thought as the colour of the Chamber changed from a neutral blue-green to an intense red. He didn't quite know what to expect, but he had a nagging suspicion.

Suddenly, a hatch to the room started to open and the Doctor turned, expecting Denham. It was a complete surprise when Jack, Bergen and Connor came hurtling through, blaster pistols firing.

The robotic drones that worked in the lab swivelled to return fire immediately. The drone closest to the Doctor opened the panel in its chest and a laser beam shot out. The Doctor dived to one side but was hit in the arm and fell to the floor with a cry and grimacing in pain.

But the drones were too slow to withstand the combined assault of Jack, Bergen and Connor however and their keen marksmanship soon destroyed all four of the robots in the room. Katherine, who had waited outside the hatch until the firing had stopped, hurried over to the Doctor and helped him to his feet. The arm of his blue jacket was still smouldering. "Are you alright?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded. "I'll be fine," he said, though he winced in pain. "Where did you get the pistols from?"

"Weapons locker," replied Bergen tersely. He looked around the room, still alert for any danger. "Where's Denham?" he asked the Doctor. "I thought he was here with you!"

"I am Joseph Denham," a husky and cracked voice replied form behind them.

They turned to see that an old man with grey-white hair and dressed in a plain light blue coverall, had stepped from the open stasis pod that had now appeared at the entrance to the Chamber.

**17.**

The Doctor looked at the old man in interest and still clutching his wounded arm, walked towards him. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Denham," he said carefully.

"He's not Denham!" Bergen interrupted angrily.

"Yes he is Captain Bergen," insisted the Doctor, looking deeply into the old man's eyes. "You're the original aren't you?" he asked quietly.

"You've worked it out?" said the old man with a small smile.

"Doctor, how can this be Denham?" asked Jack incredulously. "We saw him earlier – handsome guy with a smart suit! This fella's nothing like him!"

The Doctor just shushed Jack and turned back to the old man. "I think you have a story to tell," he said gently.

The old man sat heavily in a chair. "I couldn't keep up any more. I was getting older and slower. My competitors were getting younger and faster. I needed some way of staying ahead."

The Doctor nodded understandingly. "So that's why you did it. But why allow yourself to be imprisoned?"

The old man gave a raspy laugh that turned into a desperate coughing fit, but held up his hand as the Doctor went to help him. "Pride Doctor! Better to have my legacy live on!"

"What was it like in there?" asked the Doctor curiously. "I mean it's hardly your usual porridge is it? No blagging biscuits off the other blokes, not sneaky library books with naughty pictures, no football game against the warders?" He paused. "Or was that the film?" His tone became serious. "Really, what was it like?"

Denham paused to consider. "I was awake and alone for every single second! It was a living Hell!"

Suddenly a hatch to the room opened and two figures entered. One was the Denham that they had encountered earlier. He was supporting the other figure who was dressed in a parka and cold weather gear, a hood obscuring the face, and who staggered as if badly injured.

Denham's mouth twitched sardonically as he saw the old man. "You did it Doctor!" he said evenly.

Katherine's eye's widened as she guessed at the truth. "Is that his son?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not quite."

Denham supported the staggering figure over to the old man and then, as if the eight was too much, collapsed onto his knees. The other figure fell to the ground, the hood falling back to reveal an exact duplicate of Denham but with his head battered and blackened to reveal complex circuitry within.

"They're androids!" whispered the Doctor.

**18.**

"What's an android?" asked Katherine, bewildered. "Is it a man of metal?"

The Doctor nodded. "That's right; exact replicas in this case."

"In a way though, your young friend was right the first time," said the old man, the original Joseph Denham. "They became my sons in everything but simple biology."

The Doctor looked at the androids with interest and surprise. "Why two copies?"

The old Denham nodded sadly, cradling the damaged android's head in his lap. "This is Joseph Denham II, and my would-be rescuer here is Joseph Denham III. It was my little joke!" He laughed hoarsely, allowing the bittersweet memory of the day both androids had been completed to wash over him. They had stepped naked and empty of sin from the workbenches; just like a newborn babe. He shook the memory from his mind. "What happened?" he asked the still-functioning android Denham.

"The Alliance had found him after a deal went wrong. There was a shuttle crash. I had to pull him out. Will he make it?" the handsome android asked evenly.

Denham was about to answer when suddenly the main hatch to the room rolled open to reveal the huge bronze android that Jack and the others had escaped from. It too had sustained massive damage to its circuitry from the impact of the heavy metal shelves. It was badly dented, one arm was missing and the massive bronze head sparked and buzzed. As soon as it saw Jack, Bergen and the Doctor, it remembered its last orders and raised its arm. A blue energy beam lanced out and struck the wall next to Jack who dived to the ground, pulling out his blaster pistol and aiming it at the damaged robot.

The functioning Denham android got to his feet. "Stop Max!" he ordered. "Cease firing!"

But the android took no heed and continued to blast away at anything that moved. Bergen and Connor took cover behind computer consoles and returned fire with blaster pistols.

Katherine tried to help the wounded Doctor take cover somewhere, but he stumbled and tripped, and they fell to the ground together. Max swung around to cover them with his blaster arm raised and powered.

**19.**

The older Denham gazed at the huge bronze android in admiration. "You did this?" he whispered to his android 'son' that stood next to him. "Incredible! Inbuilt weaponry and a perfect warrior design!" He got to his feet to get a better view, shuffling towards the robot, but the android mistook this as a hostile action and turned from the sprawled Doctor and Katherine to face the old man, the weapon arm raised to fire.

`"No!" shouted the android Denham, realising what was about to happen, and threw itself in front of its creator just as Max released a deadly energy blast. The blast struck the android Denham fully in the chest and threw him backwards into the old man. The old man collapsed back and struck his head sharply against the corner of a computer console as they both crumpled to the floor.

Bergen, Connor and Jack immediately concentrated their blasters on the head of the malfunctioning android.

The Doctor hauled himself to his feet and quickly dragged Katherine behind the cover of a computer console.

As the laser blasts converged on the head of the huge android, there was a whine of power that gradually rose in pitch until, with a sudden shower of sparks and flames, it erupted with a small explosion and toppled backwards in a heap of molten metal.

The other Denham android tilted its damaged half-human head upwards and with only a tiny amount of power left in its circuits, crawled across the floor to the brother that had sacrificed itself for their creator. The human Joseph Denham lay next to it, unmoving in the growing pool of sticky blood that started to congeal around his head. As the android reached them, its power cells were finally exhausted and it froze in position, an arm stretched pitifully towards the only family it knew.

Katherine turned her head away from the prone bodies in disgust and sorrow. The Doctor put his good arm around her shoulders as they got to their feet and Jack hurried over to help them. "It's over," he said sadly, looking at the terrible carnage around him. "The Denham legacy has been destroyed."

**Epilogue**

The snow and ice swirled around them as the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and ushered his friends inside and out of the biting cold of Callis IV.

Jack, his coat buttoned up and his hat back on his head, entered the ship without a backwards glance, his face set and grim. He knew that what had happened was for the best, but the victory seemed hollow and pointless.

Katherine however paused in the TARDIS doorway. "Doctor, what will happen next?" she asked, looking up at him sadly, her dark brown eyes filled with terrible memories.

The Doctor let out a long breath and watched the vapours dance before evaporating in the cold air. "Bergen will cover it all up. The prison will remain here; it'll be like nothing ever happened!" he mused.

Katherine nodded slowly and looked out across the icy white horizon for a moment before looking back at the Doctor. "Is it always like this travelling in your blue box?"

The Doctor looked down at her and saw a single tear run slowly down her cheek. "Sometimes it's more peaceful," he said gently. But then he paused too and looked out onto the surface of the planet. "But it can be dangerous." He paused again and put his hand on her arm. "I can take you back, if you like?"

Katherine bit her lip, remembering her peaceful life at the chateau. Marriage to the man she loved more than anything in the world - their long winter nights together in front of roaring log fires and the glorious summer evenings they had walking in the vineyard. Then she shook her head and sighed. "There's nothing there for me; now Remy is dead." She managed a brave smile. "I'll stay with you, if that's alright?"

The Doctor squeezed her arm and nodded. He hated to see his companions like this but knew it was the price to pay sometimes for travelling with him.

Katherine returned the smile and entered the TARDIS. With a last look at the freezing icy landscape around him, and a heavy sigh, the Doctor followed her inside and closed the door behind him.

A strange wheezing, groaning sound filled the air as the TARDIS dematerialised leaving just swirling flakes of snow behind and a square imprint of snow on the icy ground..

_Next Time: The Doctor, Jack and Katherine land in London at the start of the Second World War in '__**Splinter of Steel'.**_

**Prison of Ice – Confidential**

Normally it seems, when you first introduce a companion, the next story is always a trip to the future or the past. Since Katherine de Gallois already came from the past, this story had to be set in the future.

New Doctor Who hadn't done an ice planet yet (well, until Season 4 and 'Planet of the Ood' that is – but this story was written six months before it, so there!), so that's what Callis IV became.

I also knew very early on that I didn't want my stories to be stuffed full of old enemies. I'm fed up with reading a series that has one every week. In my opinion, an old enemy has to warrant an appearance or they become stale and unexciting. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing them on TV, but when the show comes to rely on them every week, it starts to lose the freshness that makes it so appealing in the first place. So I set a rule for myself to only have old enemies in five or six episodes in a season. I had used Carrionites in the previous story, so there was no way an old enemy was going to appear on Callis IV! (Apart from very brief cameos in the Chamber!)

I rather like smooth villains and since I've been watching 'Heroes' I've always thought that Adrian Pasdar would make a terrific villain for Doctor Who. In fact the image of Pasdar in a smart suit started off the thinking that eventually became Denham. When I wrote the name down, I immediately christened him 'Joseph Denham III' thinking that he may have come from a long dynasty of Denhams! Little did I think that this would actually form the major 'twist' in the story!

The twist that Denham was an android also started because I couldn't quite think of who he would be rescuing. For a while it was his brother; then this became his father. I'm quite pleased with the final version though, but had to make sure that I went back and removed some of the more 'emotional' speeches he had to make him more robotic. I also planted a few clues about his invulnerability in the way he crossed the surface of the planet without his coat done up!

Back to recent Earth history next, and an old enemy awaits! Make the most of them mind you – there won't be any for a few weeks after………


End file.
